Free Caribou meat a Plesant suprise!

[Rex in OTZ]

I had been on a call list for some years now when out of state hunters (aug -sept) are faced with back hauling all ther gear in addition to all the meat and new trophy, them sometimes are strapped and I let them know they could donate meat to my family, I had done this for a few years now and this year I latched onto what i presume from the size to be a bull caribou the front quarters almost looked like a small mooses, I shure thought it was at firts but had all the caribou traights, heres the odd part in all the years of cutting caribou meat Ive never encounterd meat of such tender mild quality! the carcass was hacked up by hunters that dident know what they were doing (after years of cutting meat you can tell) this deer was treated poorly (no game bags wrapped in sections of tarp and coverd in black flies) the meat was abnormally tender raw one could cut with a fork, the meat color and smell show it fared well, so My guess they latched onto a tender one! one them 1 in 30 deer thats just right, I made Aloo-Too-Wauk (frickicee) meat & gravey with steamed rice the kids were picking the bits of meat out the skillet as it was cooking up, even when cooked it was very tender!!
When cutting the meat everyt bit was as tender from brisket to leg meat so it wasent meat age or hunter treatment of the carcass, any others run into one these exceptional deer?
My guess he was a natures nuterd steer, abnormally big and soft & tender meat?

[GRIMJIM]

That sounds lke a good guess to me. A natural eunich.

Man, I love caribou meat, and to get it for free too?

I wish I could afford to go caribou hunting again.

[Rex in OTZ]

Not all free meat is so great, I am stuck working a maintenance job during that time fram and thats the end of Summer/fall and all my maintenance projects have to be completed in that time frame.
So thanks to the airport transporters they can let me know of some hunters are having a booger of a time getting everything back home, ofttimes the meat dosent all make it back home, In state hunters on average take it all home sometimes they donate the ribbs.
in the last 6 years Ive had caribou in the freezer by freeze-up, on days Im roofing or leveling a house or somthing I just cannot drop off for the day and process meat right then I useally have time after work and work till midnight 1am on meat, I'd get a call that meat is ready for pick up some days the situation is such I have to pass, others I hop on my Honda ATV pulling a flat trailer with big plastic Pallet cover bags ready to go (free from airport freight shippers as they throw them away).
useing them on the trailer floor first and load the field meat bags in the plastic bags fold over and beat feet for home drop off the meat in the back uard in a shadded area if fresh and return to work (meat had stay'd out in the field un-refridgerated for sometimes 3-6 days before I get it, depending on meat condition if it needs cooling I'll throw the meat bags in the chest freezer till after work, I set up my cutting table and garden hose, zip bags, freezer paper, celophane & tape.
I have all my knives ready and sharpened, I have clean 5 gal buckets cut ribs in one, burger meat in another, bulk meat in the last, I have kids help with cutting and bagging, last fall I did get parts to 6 different caribou, it was a little hit & miss last fall due to the one deer rule so hunters dont want to get just anything.

[Rex in OTZ]

The local health center and Alaska Extension Agency had hosted a Caribou meat processing workshop featuring local hunters and a professional (Sami)meat cutter over here from Finland, they had done this in several different towns, I dont have footage of the hunt or field dressing, what I do have is the basic Un-butcherd carcass sitting on a meat hook at the local meat locker plant (owned by the local health center)
I have 3 mini DV(digital video) cassets, I can view on the cammera or plug into a TV but still havent the tech to transfer the video data onto a DVD for regular viewing, anyone interested in theses raw footage of a Finnish raindeer meatcutter in action, he does speak english on a way you can understand it.
I just dont have the technology here in NorthWest Alaska to DVD it.

[Rex in OTZ]

Turns out that was a Raindeer steer that had wanderd into a bunch of migrateing Caribou, seems to happen allot, raindeer hearders lose allot of ther herds to that problem, they use the same grazeing range.